Folding chair



June 6, 1944.

C. HOOVER. JR

FOLDING CHAIR Filed Jan. l, 1943 attorneys Patented June 6, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING CHAIR Charles Hoover, Jr., Lexington, N. C. Application January 1, 1943, Serial No. 471,046

3 Claims. (01. 155 142) This invention relates-to articles of furniture and more especially to a folding or collapsible chair construction. I

It is an object of this invention to provide a chair construction wherein the back portion of the seat is pivotally secured to the back chair legs, and the front portion of the seat is releasably secured to the front chair legs-said front and back chair legs being pivotally secured together at a point above the seat pivot. The front legs of the chair extend upwardly beyond the seat structure to thereby form the chair back.

It is another object of this invention to provide an article of furniture of the class described which is particularly adapted to be constructed of wood, thus eliminating the necessity of employing critical metal fittings and accessories.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved all-wood collapsible chair which is simple in construction, easy to operate, and economical to manufacture.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of my improved chair;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the chair;

Figure 3 is a front elevation looking at the right-hand side of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevation, showing the relative positions of the parts when the chair is in folded position;

Figure 5 is a sectional plan View taken along the line 55 in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional detail view.

similar to the central portion of Figure 2, illustrating the structure for releasably holding the seat portion of the chair in operative position.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I0 broadly designates an article of furniture such as a chair. This chair comprises a pair of back legs H, which are held in spaced relation to each other by suitable transversely disposed struts or rungs E2. The upper end of each leg H is pivoted as at l4 to a front leg member if, said front leg members being spaced apart at their bottom by any suitable means such as transversely disposed struts or rungs II. The front leg portions l6 extend upwardly and rearwardly from pivot point It to form a back support. The upper portions of the legs 56 are secured to a transversely disposed back rest I8.

The pivot point It is preferably formed from a wooden pin which penetrates the members ll and It. In order to facilitate the easy turning of the members I l and I6 about this pivot point, a washer has been provided around eachpin l4 and between the proximate faces of members II and I6. I

A short distance below the pivot point l4 and secured to the intermediate portion of each back leg H is a block 25, said block being secured to the leg by any suitable means such as dowel pins 26. Pivotally secured between the blocks as at 21 is the rear portion of a seat 28. Figures 5 and 6 show in detail the means employed for pivotally mounting this seat. It is here seen that the pivot point 21 is preferably formed from a wooden pin in somewhat the same manner as pivot point l4 thereabove is formed. In order to facilitate the turning of the seat structure 28 about the pivot point 21, a washer 29 is positioned around each pin 2'! and between the proximate faces of the block and seat.

It can be seen by referring to Figures 2, 3, and 6 that the seat 28 is reinforced by transversely disposed bars 30 and 3|, said bars being secured to the bottom of the seat member by any suitable means such as dowel pins 32 and 33 respectively.

The intermediate front portion of each front leg It has an L-shaped notch 34 therein. The horizontal shoulders formed by these notches are adapted to support the lower intermediate portions of the chair seat 28 when the chair is in an unfolded position as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 6. In order to releasably hold the chair seat 28 in the notch, a suitable dowel pin 35 has been provided, which dowel pin extends upwardly from the horizontal shoulders formed by the notch. In the lower portion of the seat which rests upon the shoulders, a cavity 36 is provided for the reception of the upper portion of the dowel pin.

It is therefore seen that the notches and the dowel pins 35 cooperate with cavities 36 to releasably hold the seat 28 in substantially horizontal position when the chair is extended for the accommodation of an occupant. When it is desired to fold the chair into the position shown in Figure 4, it is only necessary to raise the front free end of seat 28 to release the dowel pin from the cavity, thereafter the seat may be rotated upwardly about pivot point 21. At the same time, the rear legs I I may be rotated about pivot points l4 until the members 28, I6, and H are in substantially parallel positions. When thus folded, the article of furniture will be in a position for storing or shipping.

In the drawing and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A folding chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined front legs, a back rest secured between the upper ends of the front legs, a pair of rear legs having their upper ends pivotally secured to the front legs at a point below the back rest and extending downwardly and rearwardly, a seat member pivotally secured at its rear end to an intermediate portion of the rear legs, each of said front legs having a notch in its front edge forming a horizontally disposed shoulder, a pin rising from each shoulder, said seat having laterally projecting portions in front of the front leg members provided with cavities in their lower surfaces into which the pins are adapted to fit when thechair seat is in horizontal position,

2, A folding chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined front legs, a back rest secured between the upper ends of the front legs, a pair of rear leg's having their upper ends pivotally secured to the front legs at a point below the back rest and extending downwardly and rearwardly, a seat member pivotally secured at its rear end to an intermediate portion of the rear legs, said front legs having a ledge on their forward edges and the side edges of the seat in front of the front legs being extended laterally to rest on the ledges when the seat is in erected position and means on the front legs releasably penetrating the lower surface of the seat for releasably locking the seat and front legs together when the chair is in erected position.

3. A folding chair comprising a pair of front legs which, when the chair is erected extend upwardly and rearwardly, said front legs having a back rest secured between the upper ends thereof, said front legs having a ledge or shoulder on the front edges thereof, a pair of rear legs pivotally secured at their upper ends to the upper portion of the front legs at a point between the back rest and said ledges, a seat portion disposed between the front legs and having its rear end pivotally connected to the front edge of the rear legs, said seat portion having laterally projecting portions in front of the front legs which overlie the ledges when the chair is in erected position, said ledges having pins rising upwardly therefrom and the laterally projecting portions of the seat having cavities in their lower surfaces into which the pins are adapted to project when the chair is in erected position.

CHARLES HOOVER, JR. 

